Best Payroll Software for Small Business: 9 Options Priced (Nov 2026)

The best payroll software for a small business, as of November 2026, comes down to headcount, how many states your team lives in, and how much HR help you want. If you just need to pay a handful of people, the providers that publish prices (Square Payroll, Gusto, OnPay, QuickBooks and Justworks) land between $65 and $90 a month for 5 employees at list price, while ADP, Paychex, Rippling and Netchex make you ask for a quote. I run Ecommerce Paradise, and every figure below comes from the provider’s own page, which I read this month.

I teach high-ticket dropshipping, and in my experience many store owners hit payroll the same way: a first part-time hire, a couple of freelancers, and a sudden need to file payroll taxes correctly. This roundup is about that stage, not about 500-person companies.

Affiliate disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links and I may earn a commission at no cost to you. It does not change which tools I recommend or what the pricing pages say. This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice, and prices and terms change, so confirm everything on the provider’s page before you sign up.

Payroll Software for Small Business at a Glance (November 2026)

What Does Payroll Software for a Small Business Cost for 5 and 15 Employees?

List prices are easy to compare when you do the arithmetic once. The table below uses only the base fee and per-person fee each provider shows, with no add-ons, no benefits premiums and no promotional discounts. Payroll taxes themselves are separate and paid to the government.

Two things jump out. First, the five cheapest rows sit within $25 of each other at 5 people ($65 to $90), so the decision there is about features, not price. Second, the per-person fee matters more as you grow: Gusto Plus costs $75 more than Square at 5 people ($140 versus $65) and $135 more at 15 people ($260 versus $125), because its per-person fee is $12 instead of $6. I would model your own headcount before you trust any “starting at” number.

The “starting at” language deserves its own warning. Several of these pages put the base fee in large type and the per-person fee in small type, and QuickBooks, for example, advertises 50% off for the first three months. Promotions like that end, so I priced everything at the regular figure.

How I Checked These Providers

I opened each provider’s own pricing or product page in November 2026 and wrote down what it showed. Where a page did not show a number, I write “not shown on the pages I could load” instead of filling the gap from memory. I did not use third-party review sites for any figure here, because they can lag behind a provider’s current prices.

Two caveats. Pricing pages change often, and promotions vary by session, so treat everything here as a snapshot taken November 3, 2026. I also did not test any payroll product by running a live pay period, so none of the rankings below is a hands-on performance claim.

1. Gusto: Published Plans With a Clear Upgrade Path

Gusto lists three payroll plans. The figures here come from its own pricing page, which I read on November 3, 2026. Simple is $49 a month plus $6 per person and is described as “basic payroll in one state.” Plus is $80 plus $12 per person and adds multi-state payroll, time tracking and scheduling, unlimited next-day pay and contractor invoice management. Premium is $180 plus $22 per person and adds a named advisor, HR guidance and tools, business compliance tools and same-day and instant pay.

Every plan includes unlimited payroll runs, tax filings and payments, payroll approvals, domestic contractor payments and an employee app. The page also says Gusto is month-to-month with no contracts and free account setup. I could not find a free trial described on the pricing page.

The detail that catches people is that Simple is the one-state plan. If you hire a remote assistant in a second state, the page points you to Plus. I break every plan, add-on and fee down in my Gusto pricing guide. The Gusto review covers how it works day to day.

2. Netchex: Built for Hourly and Frontline Teams

Netchex targets businesses where work happens on the floor, in the field or behind a counter, such as hospitality, healthcare and auto dealerships. It lists payroll, time and attendance, hiring, onboarding and benefits modules and does not publish pricing. Its own claims include that 90% of calls are answered in under a minute, which is a vendor statement I could not verify independently.

For a typical online store with a few remote employees, this is probably more than you need. For a store with a warehouse and shift workers, it deserves a quote.

3. OnPay: One Plan, Multi-State Included

OnPay shows a single Payroll Essentials plan at $49 a month plus $6 per paid worker. The page says you can pay workers in as many states as you need on all plans, with federal, state and local filings included. Optional HR add-ons are priced separately, for example HR at $15 plus $2 per worker and Time Tracking at $15 plus $4 per worker.

The OnPay site also lists a “Get one month free” link, but the terms were not shown on the page I read. The homepage sidebar says pricing starts at $55 a month while the pricing section says $49 plus $6, and the page does not explain the difference. I used $49 plus $6. It also mentions free expert setup and free migration of prior wage data when you switch.

For a two-state team this is the cleanest comparison against Gusto Plus: $79 versus $140 per month at 5 people, though Plus bundles features OnPay sells separately.

4. Square Payroll: Lowest Base Fee, Best Inside Square

Square Payroll lists full-service payroll at $35 a month plus $6 per person paid, and contractor-only payroll at $6 per month per person paid. The full-service list includes unlimited pay runs, no long-term contract, multistate payroll, automated federal and state tax filings and a QuickBooks Online integration. Mailed paper W-2s and 1099s cost $3 per form.

The pricing page did not show a free trial, so I do not claim one. If you already sell through Square, the integration is the draw. If you do not, the lower base fee saves you $14 a month against Gusto Simple, which is real but small.

5. QuickBooks Payroll: Best When Your Books Already Live There

QuickBooks Payroll is now sold under the Workforce name. For payroll alone, the Intuit pricing pages showed Workforce Payroll at $50 plus $7 per employee, Workforce Premium at $88 plus $13 and Workforce Elite at $134 plus $17, each with 50% off for three months. Payroll bundled with accounting plans is priced higher.

The base plan lists full-service payroll, auto payroll, 1099 e-file, expert product support and next-day direct deposit. Premium adds same-day direct deposit and HR tools. The pages I read did not mention multi-state payroll or per-state fees, so I do not claim either way. If you already use QuickBooks for accounting, my Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll comparison goes deeper.

6. Justworks: Payroll-Only or a Full PEO

Justworks shows a Payroll plan at $8 per employee per month plus a $50 base fee, PEO Basic at $79 per employee, PEO Plus at $124 per employee and an international Employer of Record option at $599 per employee. PEO Basic lists 24/7 support, HR consulting tools and 401(k) access, and PEO Plus adds medical, dental and vision administration. Contractor Payments appears in the plan feature table and I did not see a separate per-contractor fee for US contractors, while paying international contractors is an add-on at $39 per month per paid contractor.

A PEO is a different product from payroll software, with a per-employee price that bundles benefits administration and compliance help, so compare it to payroll software with that in mind. This paragraph includes a contextual link arranged through an editorial exchange. The page shows no implementation fee.

7. Rippling: A Suite When You Want HR and IT Together

Rippling states that plans start at $8 per employee per month with a monthly base fee, but it does not publish the base fee or a payroll price, so you need a quote for your real total. Its site lists HR, IT (including identity, access and device management), payroll, contractors, global payroll and finance tools as separate products you add as needed.

That modular design is the trade-off: the starting number is not the number you pay once several products are added. My Gusto vs Rippling comparison covers where each wins.

8. ADP RUN: A Quote and a Rep

ADP RUN does not publish prices. The product page directs you to get pricing for your business, lists four packages (Essential, Enhanced, Complete Payroll and HR+, and HR Pro), and advertises up to 6 months of free payroll subject to terms I could not see. ADP’s own navigation files RUN under small business payroll for 1 to 49 employees.

That is worth correcting, because an earlier version of this post pitched RUN as a platform for companies growing past 50 employees. ADP’s page also says it offers 24/7 support from payroll experts. If you want to compare it to cheaper options, my ADP alternatives guide goes through them.

9. Paychex Flex: Quote-Based With Four Packages

Paychex shows Basic, Foundations, Advanced and Complete packages for Paychex Flex and sends you to a free quote rather than showing prices. The page says Paychex manages the calculation, withholding and remittance of taxes for every state where your employees work, and it lists a mobile app and an AI assistant called WISE.

I did not find 24/7 support stated on the page I loaded, so I removed that claim from this version. If you are comparing it with ADP, ask both reps for a quote that includes the same add-ons.

Which Payroll Software Fits Which Small Business

You have 1 to 5 people in one state

Square Payroll, Gusto Simple and OnPay are the three published-price options within about $25 a month of each other. Pick Square if you already run on Square, OnPay if a second state is likely soon, and Gusto if you want the broader plan ladder.

You have remote hires in several states

OnPay includes multi-state on its one plan. Gusto needs Plus. Square lists multistate payroll under full-service. Ask each provider whether state registration for a new state carries a fee, because Gusto says its state tax registration pricing varies by state.

You already live in QuickBooks

Start with QuickBooks Payroll and compare its price against Gusto Simple. Fewer manual reconciliation steps can matter more than a $6 monthly difference at 5 people, but check that the integration covers your setup.

You want benefits and compliance handled for you

Look at Justworks PEO plans or Gusto Premium. Both cost far more per person than payroll-only software, so make sure you will use what you are paying for.

Employees Versus Contractors Changes the Math

Many ecommerce teams mix W-2 employees with freelancers such as a virtual assistant, a designer and an ad manager. How you classify them matters more than which software you buy. The IRS explains that it looks at behavioral, financial and type-of-relationship evidence to decide whether someone is an employee or a contractor.

The Department of Labor describes misclassification as treating a worker who is an employee under the FLSA as an independent contractor, which can leave the worker without minimum wage and overtime protections. Software cannot decide this for you, so talk to an accountant if you are unsure.

On cost, Gusto bills US contractors at your plan’s per-person price in the months you pay them. Square’s contractor-only plan is $6 per person. Justworks lists Contractor Payments in its feature table with no separate US contractor fee that I could see, and charges $39 a month per paid international contractor. Contractor fees are listed differently by every provider, and OnPay’s page showed none.

Set Up the Business Before You Set Up Payroll

Payroll software assumes you already have a legal entity and an Employer Identification Number. The SBA’s guide to hiring employees lists getting an EIN and finding out whether you need state or local tax IDs as the first steps. If you have not formed your company yet, read my guide to business formation first.

The IRS also lists what an employer handles: withholding federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and federal unemployment tax, as described on its employment taxes page. This is exactly the work payroll software files for you, and it is why a late deposit is a bigger risk than a $14 price difference.

Hiring Abroad Changes the Shortlist

Everything above is for US payroll. Once you hire in the UK, most of these tools stop fitting, and an outsourced option such as Cezanne HR’s managed UK payroll service handles pay runs, HMRC reporting and pension auto-enrolment through UK-based payroll specialists. It is aimed at UK employers that pay staff monthly, four-weekly, fortnightly or weekly, so treat it as a later-stage move.

Gusto, Justworks and Rippling each list international contractor or global payroll options. Prices differ widely: Justworks lists international contractors at $39 per month per paid contractor and Employer of Record at $599 per employee. If you source from overseas, my guide to finding high-ticket suppliers explains how I think about those relationships, which are usually supplier agreements rather than payroll.

Common Mistakes When Picking Payroll Software

The first mistake is comparing base fees and ignoring per-person fees. A $35 base looks cheap until you realize a $6 per-person fee on 15 people adds $90.

The second is buying for the team you hope to have. A store with 3 people does not need a PEO. The third is ignoring state count: Gusto’s one-state Simple plan is a poor fit the day you hire in a second state, and the $61 monthly gap between Simple and Plus at 5 people ($140 minus $79) is the price of that mistake.

The fourth is skipping a trial run. A sensible test is one real pay period with a small group before you move everyone. The fifth is forgetting that business expenses like payroll software are still just one line in a larger profit picture, and a high-ticket store with healthy margins can carry this cost easily. My list of high-ticket niches shows the kinds of products where margins can support a small team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest payroll software for a small business?
Of the providers that publish prices, Square Payroll showed the lowest base at $35 a month plus $6 per person, which is $65 a month for 5 people as of November 2026. Square’s contractor-only plan is $6 per person with no base. Quote-based providers may be cheaper or more expensive, so compare actual quotes.

What is the best payroll software for a small business with employees in multiple states?
OnPay says all plans include payroll in as many states as you need, at $49 plus $6 per worker. Gusto requires the Plus plan ($80 plus $12 per person) for multi-state, and Square lists multistate payroll with full-service. Check how each handles registering for a new state before you hire.

Is ADP RUN good for a small business?
ADP files RUN under small business payroll for 1 to 49 employees and does not publish prices, so you need a quote. I cannot rate its quality without using it, so ask for a written quote and compare it with a published-price provider.

Do I need a PEO instead of payroll software?
Not for most very small teams. A PEO such as Justworks PEO Basic is $79 per employee and PEO Plus is $124, against $50 plus $8 per employee for its Payroll plan. The PEO prices include more services, so the question is whether you will use them.

Can I pay contractors with the same software?
Yes, with each provider’s own fees. Gusto bills contractors at your plan’s per-person price in months you pay them, Square charges $6 per person on its contractor-only plan, and Justworks shows no separate US contractor fee on its pricing page but lists $39 per paid international contractor. Check how each provider handles 1099 filing.

What I Changed in This Update

This post was refreshed on November 3, 2026. I removed a claim that Gusto’s Premium plan has no public price (it is $180 plus $22 per person), corrected OnPay from $40 to $49 a month, corrected Justworks from “$59 to 109” per employee to the $79 and $124 PEO prices, removed an $8 per-contractor Justworks add-on that its pricing page does not show, and stopped describing ADP RUN as a 50-plus employee product. Pricing changes, so check the provider before you buy.

Related Articles

If you are narrowing the list, these guides go deeper on the providers above and on what else to set up when you start hiring.

• Gusto Pricing Explained: Every Plan, Add-On and Fee
• Gusto Review 2026
• Best Gusto Alternatives
• Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll
• Best ADP Alternatives in 2026

Trevor Fenner

Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.

He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.

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